Vincent Zhou
Personal life
Vincent Zhou was born in San Jose, California.[2] Both of his parents are originally from China.[3] His older sister, Vivian, is a violinist and diver.[4][5] His mother, Fei Ge, and his father, Max Zhou, are both computer scientists and worked in Silicon Valley.[6] When Zhou was a baby, his family moved to Palo Alto, California where they continue to reside. Zhou's mother gave up her tech job in December 2009 to focus on his training and education.[6]
After attending Hoover Elementary, Zhou switched to Capistrano Connections Academy (CapoCA) to accommodate his training. His mother was his "Learning Coach". He was allowed to skip a couple of grade levels.[6] For the 2013–14 school year, he took classes at the 9th grade level or higher, including pre-calculus and programming (agewise, he should have been in 7th grade).[7] Zhou is a straight-A student. He received the Presidential Award for Educational Excellence,[7] a recognition awarded at the sole discretion of his school principal.[8]
Zhou moved with his mother to Colorado Springs, Colorado in the spring of 2015[9] and returned to California a year later.[10] He has since returned to Colorado Springs, where he spends the majority of his time. He had a Siamese tabby cat named Snookie.[11] He volunteers regularly.[5]
Skating career
Early years
Zhou started skating in 2005.[2] As a young child, he had lessons with Julie Lowndes and Charlie Tickner. He was coached by Diana Miro at the juvenile level and represented the Peninsula Skating Club until the 2011–2012 season. When he was nine, Zhou started to be coached by Tammy Gambill[11][10] and became a member of the All Year Figure Skating Club in Riverside, California. Zhou admires Patrick Chan, Brian Boitano, Michael Weiss, Yuzuru Hanyu, and Richard Dornbush.[5][11]
He won three national titles at different levels in three consecutive years:[7]
- 2011 U.S. intermediate champion (youngest U.S. intermediate champion)
- 2012 U.S. novice champion
- 2013 U.S. junior champion (youngest U.S. junior champion)
Zhou intended to skate at the senior level in the 2013-2014 season,[12] but missed the season due to an injury. He was also forced to sit out the entire 2014-15 season because of a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee and a discoid meniscus. Zhou underwent surgery at the UCSF Orthepedic Institute in San Francisco to get his injuries treated.[9]
In the spring of 2015, Zhou began training at the Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado Springs, Colorado with Tom Zakrajsek and Becky Calvin as his new coaches.[9] In May 2015, he returned to competition, at the Santa Fe Skatefest.[9]
2015–2016 season
Making his ISU Junior Grand Prix debut, Zhou won two silver medals at the 2015 JGP events in Bratislava, Slovakia and Linz, Austria. These results qualified him for the 2015–16 JGP Final in Barcelona, where he finished fourth.
In January 2016, Zhou placed 8th on the senior level at the U.S. Championships and was named in the U.S. team to the World Junior Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. At the March event, he placed fourth in both segments and fifth overall.
2016–2017 season
Zhou changed coaches ahead of the 2016–2017 season, returning to Tammy Gambill.[10] He has continued to train in Colorado Springs with one of his primary coaches, Drew Meekins, and Tom Zakrajsek. Starting his season on the Junior Grand Prix series, he won silver in Yokohama, Japan, having ranked first in the short and second in the free behind South Korea's Cha Jun-hwan, and then bronze in Tallinn, Estonia. In December, he made his senior international debut at the 2016 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb but withdrew after the short program.
Competing as a senior, Zhou won the silver medal at the U.S. Championships in January 2017. The following month, he stood on his first senior international podium, taking gold at the Bavarian Open. In March, he won the gold medal at the 2017 World Junior Championships. After placing 5th in the short program, he moved up to win the title with a personal best free skate.[13]
2017–2018 season
Zhou opened the season at the Finlandia Trophy, where he scored 6th in the short program, then moved up to a second-place finish behind China's Boyang Jin after winning the free skate. He made his senior Grand Prix debut, having received assignments to the 2017 Cup of China and 2017 Internationaux de France. In China, he scored 8th in the short program and 2nd in the free skate, landing just three points short of the podium; in France, he fell on the quads in his short program, ending up 10th in the short and 9th overall. After intense training and a shoulder dislocation, Zhou headed to the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where he attempted a total of seven quadruple jumps. He took 5th in the short program and 3rd in the free skate, taking the bronze medal. His total score was just 0.68 points behind silver medalist Ross Miner.
Alongside Nathan Chen and Adam Rippon, Zhou was named in the U.S. Olympic figure skating team to Pyeongchang, South Korea.[14] During his short program on February 16, he became the first skater to land a quadruple Lutz jump at the Olympics.[1] After the free program, he ultimately placed 6th, behind US national champion Nathan Chen.
In April 2018, Zhou announced on Instagram that he and his choreographer Joshua Farris completed a new exhibition program to A-ha's "Take on Me". Zhou noted he had grown fond of the song while reading Ernest Cline's Ready Player One.[15]
2018–2019 season
At his first event of the season, the 2018 CS U.S. International Classic, Zhou placed sixth in the short, first in the free, and fourth overall.[citation needed]
Zhou's assignments for the 2018-19 Grand Prix series are Skate America and NHK Trophy.[16] At the 2018 Skate America, Zhou placed six in the short, third in the free, and fifth overall. At the 2018 NHK Trophy, Zhou placed fifth in the short, fourth in the free, and fourth overall. In late November Zhou competed at the 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy, where he won the silver medal
At the 2019 US Championships, he won the silver medal after placing third in the short program and second in the free skate.[17] He was assigned to compete at the 2019 Four Continents Championships in early February and the 2019 World Championships in March.
At the 2019 Four Continents Championships, Zhou ranked first in the short with a personal best score of 100.18, and fifth in the free. He won the bronze medal, achieving his first podium finish at an ISU Championship.[18].
At the 2019 World Championships, Zhou scored a new season’s best of 186.99, placing third in the free skate and won the bronze medal.[19].
Records and achievements
- Current record holder for the junior-level men's record for the free program of 179.24 and combined total of 258.11 at the 2017 Junior Worlds.
- First skater to land the quadruple Lutz jump at the Olympics.[1]
- First skater to land two quadruple Lutz jumps at the Olympics.[citation needed]
Programs
Season | Short program | Free skating | Exhibition |
---|---|---|---|
2018–2019 [2][20][21] |
|
|
|
2017–2018 [24][25][26][27] |
|
|
|
2016–2017 [30][10] |
|
|
|
2015–2016 [9][31] |
|
|
|
2014–2015 [9] |
Did not compete this season | ||
2013–2014 [4] |
|
|
|
2012–2013 [4] |
|
|
|
2011–2012 [4] |
|
|
Competitive highlights
GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series; JGP: Junior Grand Prix
International[32] | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Event | 09–10 | 10–11 | 11–12 | 12–13 | 15–16 | 16–17 | 17–18 | 18–19 |
Olympics | 6th | |||||||
Worlds | 14th | 3rd | ||||||
Four Continents | 3rd | |||||||
GP Cup of China | 4th | |||||||
GP France | 9th | |||||||
GP NHK Trophy | 4th | |||||||
GP Skate America | 5th | |||||||
CS Finlandia | 2nd | |||||||
CS Golden Spin | WD | |||||||
CS Tallinn Trophy | 2nd | |||||||
CS U.S. Classic | 4th | |||||||
Bavarian Open | 1st | |||||||
Philadelphia | WD | |||||||
International: Junior[32] | ||||||||
Junior Worlds | 5th | 1st | ||||||
JGP Final | 4th | |||||||
JGP Austria | 2nd | |||||||
JGP Estonia | 3rd | |||||||
JGP Japan | 2nd | |||||||
JGP Slovakia | 2nd | |||||||
Egna Spring Trophy | 1st N | |||||||
National[4] | ||||||||
U.S. Champ. | 1st N | 1st J | 8th | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | ||
U.S. Jr. Champ. | 5th V | 1st I | ||||||
Pacific Coast | 1st N | 1st J | ||||||
Southwest Pacific | 1st J | |||||||
Central Pacific | 1st V | 1st I | 1st N | |||||
TeamEvents | ||||||||
World Team Trophy | 1st T 2nd P |
|||||||
Levels: V = Juvenile; I = Intermediate; N = Novice; J = Junior |
Detailed results
Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships.
2018–19 season | ||||
Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
11–14 April 2019 | 2019 World Team Trophy | 2 100.51 |
2 198.50 |
1T/2P 299.01 |
March 18–24, 2019 | 2019 World Championships | 4 94.17 |
3 186.99 |
3 281.16 |
February 7–10, 2019 | 2019 Four Continents Championships | 1 100.18 |
5 172.04 |
3 272.22 |
Jan. 19 - 27, 2019 | 2019 U.S. Championships | 3 100.25 |
2 183.76 |
2 284.01 |
Nov. 26 – Dec. 2, 2018 | 2018 CS Tallinn Trophy | 3 77.46 |
2 156.79 |
2 234.25 |
November 9–11, 2018 | 2018 NHK Trophy | 5 75.90 |
4 147.52 |
4 223.42 |
October 19–21, 2018 | 2018 Skate America | 6 76.38 |
3 149.37 |
5 225.75 |
September 12–16, 2018 | 2018 CS U.S. International Classic | 6 61.72 |
1 142.90 |
4 204.62 |
2017–18 season | ||||
Date | Event | SP | FS | Total |
March 19–25, 2018 | 2018 World Championships | 3 96.78 |
19 138.46 |
14 235.24 |
February 14–23, 2018 | 2018 Winter Olympics | 12 84.53 |
6 192.16 |
6 276.69 |
Dec. 29 – Jan. 8, 2018 | 2018 U.S. Championships | 5 89.02 |
3 184.81 |
3 273.83 |
November 17–19, 2017 | 2017 Internationaux de France | 10 66.12 |
7 156.09 |
9 222.21 |
November 3–5, 2017 | 2017 Cup of China | 8 80.23 |
2 176.43 |
4 256.66 |
October 6–8, 2017 | 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy | 6 76.10 |
1 173.91 |
2 250.01 |
Junior and novice
Small medals for short and free programs awarded only at ISU Championships. Current ISU world bests highlighted in bold and italic.
2016–17 season | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Level | SP | FS | Total | |||
March 15–19, 2017 | 2017 World Junior Championships | Junior | 5 78.87 |
1 179.24 |
1 258.11 |
|||
February 14–19, 2017 | 2017 Bavarian Open | Senior | 1 85.53 |
1 162.28 |
1 247.81 |
|||
January 14–22, 2017 | 2017 U.S. Championships | Senior | 3 87.85 |
2 175.18 |
2 263.03 |
|||
December 7–10, 2016 | 2016 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb | Senior | 12 64.61 |
WD |
WD |
|||
Sept. 28 – Oct. 2, 2016 | 2016 JGP Estonia | Junior | 1 78.10 |
3 135.82 |
3 213.92 |
|||
September 8–11, 2016 | 2016 JGP Japan | Junior | 1 80.53 |
2 145.86 |
2 226.39 |
|||
2015–16 season | ||||||||
Date | Event | Level | SP | FS | Total | |||
March 14–20, 2016 | 2016 World Junior Championships | Junior | 4 77.37 |
4 143.88 |
5 221.19 |
|||
January 15–24, 2016 | 2016 U.S. Championships | Senior | 8 68.10 |
8 149.13 |
8 217.23 |
|||
December 10–13, 2015 | 2015–16 JGP Final | Junior | 4 70.48 |
3 134.08 |
4 204.56 |
|||
September 9–13, 2015 | JGP Austria | Junior | 3 66.59 |
2 145.37 |
2 211.96 |
|||
August 19–23, 2015 | JGP Slovakia | Junior | 2 68.07 |
2 132.78 |
2 200.85 |
2012–13 season | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date | Event | Level | SP | FS | Total | Ref | |
April 2–3, 2013 | 2013 Gardena Spring Trophy | Novice | 1 48.46 |
1 105.09 |
1 153.55 |
[33] | |
January 20–22, 2013 | 2013 U.S. Championships | Junior | 2 66.31 |
1 138.95 |
1 205.26 |
[34] | |
2011–12 season | |||||||
Date | Event | Level | SP | FS | Total | Ref | |
January 22–23, 2012 | 2012 U. S. Championships | Novice | 1 52.45 |
1 112.51 |
1 164.96 |
[35] |
- ISU Personal best highlighted in bold.
References
- ^ a b c "American Zhou lands 1st quad lutz in Olympics". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. January 15, 2018.
- ^ a b c "Vincent ZHOU: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018.
- ^ 披龍服報捷 周知方鎖定2018冬奧. World Journal (in Chinese). 25 January 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Vincent Zhou". U.S. Figure Skating. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018.
"Earlier versions". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link) - ^ a b c Walker, Elvin (24 June 2012). "U.S. novice champ Zhou hungry for more". Golden Skate. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ^ a b c "Fay Ge". Capistrano Connections Academy. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Vincent Zhou". Capistrano Connections Academy. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014.
- ^ "How awards are rewarded for the President's Education Award Program". Archived from the original on 2016-10-18.
- ^ a b c d e f Brannen, Sarah S. (June 1, 2015). "Zhou on comeback trail after injury, academic break". IceNetwork.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Brannen, Sarah S. (July 21, 2016). "Zhou returns to his roots, reunites with Gambill". IceNetwork.com.
- ^ a b c Whetstone, Mimi (August–September 2013). "A Coach's Dream". Skating Magazine.
- ^ Brannen, Sarah S. (29 August 2013). "Young Skaters Look to the Future". Boston 2014. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014.
- ^ Flade, Tatjana (16 March 2017). "USA's Zhou jumps to Junior World gold". Golden Skate.
- ^ "Athlete Profile - Vincent ZHOU". pyeongchang2018.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2018.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)
- ^ a b c Zhou, Vincent (April 5, 2018). "Josh Farris and I are so excited to have finished my "Take On Me" exhibition program!!" (Instagram).
- ^ "ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating 2018/19 - Entries - Men". ISU.org.
- ^ "Chen dominates U.S. men to win third national title". Golden Skate. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ "Revived, Uno rallies to capture first Four Continents title". Golden Skate. Archived from the original on 11 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
- ^ "Chen defends World title with record scores". golden skate. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ Almond, Elliott (May 3, 2018). "The lonely road of a teenage Olympic ice skater". The Mercury News.
- ^ Zhou, Vincent (August 7, 2018). "2018-2019 SP: Exogenesis Symphony Pt. 3, choreographed by Lori Nichol" (Instagram).
- ^ a b "Music - Stars on Ice" (PDF). Stars on Ice. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)
- ^ Zhou, Vincent (February 21, 2019). "@joshdfarris thank you so much for another amazing exhibition program!! ~ Music: Joji - Slow Dancing in the Dark" (Instagram).
- ^ Brannen, Sarah S. (June 23, 2017). "Creating the program: Zhou makes music selection". IceNetwork.com.
- ^ Rutherford, Lynn (August 24, 2017). "Champs Camp Chatter: Zhou gets new free skate". IceNetwork.com.
- ^ Brannen, Sarah S. (August 30, 2017). "Creating the Program: Zhou, team hit reset button". IceNetwork.com.
- ^ "Vincent ZHOU: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)
- ^ a b 김, 희준 (April 20, 2018). "올림픽 감동 재현한 봄의 아이스쇼…색다른 매력도 선보인 평창 스타들". Newsis.
- ^ ISU Grand Prix 2017 Cup of China Exhibition (Television production). Eurosport. November 5, 2017.
- ^ "Vincent ZHOU: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)
- ^ "Vincent ZHOU: 2015/2016". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on May 28, 2016.CS1 maint: Unfit url (link)
- ^ a b "Competition Results: Vincent ZHOU". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on July 3, 2016.
- ^ "23° Gardena Spring Trophy 2013". Federazione Italiana Sport del Ghiaccio. 3 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ "2013 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships". U.S. Figure Skating. 19 January 2013. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
- ^ "2012 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships". U.S. Figure Skating. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
External links